The cause of a deadly plane crash in southwestern Kazakhstan is being investigated, and some officials are claiming Russian involvement.Read the original article on Business Insider

Two prototypes for China's future stealth strike fighter took the skies in broad daylight.Both appear to be advanced flying wing designs useful for attack missions.China watchers buzzed about the possible roles of a fighter that could rival US aircraft.Two prototypes for China's future stealth strike fighter took the skies in broad daylight in recent days, showcasing China's growing aerospace might as it tries to match the US.The designs appeared intended to make a splash. One showed a triangular aircraft similar to America's retired F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter, with some notable differences. The prototype by Chengdu Aerospace Corporation lacked a tail and fin-like vertical stabilizers and was powered by three engines; a new video shows it in a low-altitude turn accompanied by a J-20 Mighty Dragon stealth fighter.Photos and videos also recently captured a stealth prototype, attributed to Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, fueling speculation the aircraft may be rivals.The sightings immediately prompted questions among aviation watchers about whether these designs were stealthy strike aircraft (designed to ground-attack areas guarded by air defenses) or contenders for a leap-ahead sixth-generation air superiority fighter, of the sort the US is struggling to define."Fascinating that the [People's Liberation Army Air Force/Chinese Communist Party] have chosen to fly this prototype in daylight now," Justin Bronk, an airpower expert at the UK's RUSI think tank, said on X. "I suspect more likely to be the 5th Gen regional bomber/strike fighter project sometimes called J/H-XX."A Defense Department report released in mid-December said that China "is developing new medium- and long-range stealth bombers to strike regional and global targets."Both prototype aircraft appear to be flying wing designs, which more efficiently distribute an aircraft's load and reduce drag. These aircraft are more inherently unstable and require automated fly-by-wire systems that constantly change the aircraft's flight controls. The US Air Force has leaned into this design with its Northrop B-2 Spirit and Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider bombers.By eliminating a tail and vertical stabilizers, the flying wing reduces the number of angled surfaces that can produce radar returns. These types of aircraft may be able to strike defended areas before being detected on radar.

After watching and rewatching James Gunns Superman trailer in recent weeks, I was on a Superman high. To keep it going, I decided that while building a Lego over Christmas break, I was going to rewatch all of the Christopher Reeve Superman movies. Movies Id seen beforeIm even old enough to have seen IV in theatersbut hadnt rewatched in order in decades. What I found was one of the most quickly declining franchises I can think of, though I believe history has two of the films reversed. Everyone would agree that Richard Donners 1978 film Superman is a classic. Its so epic and filled with memorable scenes that it still stands as one of the great superhero films of all time. Clearly, its the best of the bunch. Superman II is a step down for certain but it nicely completes the story of that movie, giving us a full circle with the Clark Kent and Lois Lane characters and wrapping up the whole General Zod thing. Then I popped on Superman III and immediately I knew it was a bad decision. It starts with Richard Pryors character in an unemployment office. He then, magically, becomes the worlds greatest computer hacker. Clark Kent goes back to Smallville and gets oddly close with an old classmate. Pryor and his evil boss make fake kryptonite thats basically a cigarette and it inexplicably turns Superman into an asshole. Then we have to watch him be an asshole for way too long. Finally, Superman fights himself, becomes normal again, and fights the computer hackers while also inexplicably forgiving Pryors character. Its, to put it bluntly, a huge piece of shit. Superman III actually made me angry. If I wanted to watch a Richard Pryor movie, I would have done that. This was clearly just Richard Pryor starring in a Superman movie, not the other way around. It misunderstands the characters, never develops a dramatic plot, is filled with all sorts of out-of-place gags, and works better as an anti-smoking ad than anything else. This worried me greatly because while Id seen Superman and Superman II a few times in recent years, I didnt remember III or IV as well. All I did remember was, I thought, IV was the worst of the bunch. So when I started it, I was more than a little hesitant.Going in with those low expectations, I actually found Superman IV: The Quest For Peace to be vastly superior to Superman III. Its still terriblelets not forget thatbut at least its attempting to be a Superman movie. Hes back in love with Lois Lane, with Margot Kidder back for the whole film. Lex Luthor has a new scheme and Gene Hackman is back for the whole film. Superman has to fight an otherworldly supervillain in Nuclear Man. And the character is working towards the betterment of the entire world. These are all things that feel crucial, in one way or another, to the DNA of a Superman movie. Of course, all of this happens way too easily, and none of the actorswith the exception of the always exceptional Reevecare one iota about what theyre doing. Superman IV forgets events of other movies, looks bad, feels somehow too small for the franchise, and the action set pieces are dreadful. Its a bad, bad movie. But its a step up from the abomination of the previous one.As the film ended (Superman IV is also about 45 minutes shorter than the previous three, mercifully, though there are many reasons for that), I felt pretty confident in my rankings. One is one, two is two, four is three, and three is four. It honestly felt like an almost infallible list. So, when I looked over at Wikipedia and Rotten Tomatoes to see that Superman III is better regarded though not by muchthan IV, I was a little surprised. Clearly thats the narrative I had in my head going in but watching the two bad movies back to back, after the great first and good second ones, I felt like history was wrong. Superman III is awful in every sense of the word while The Quest For Peace is awful, while at least trying to be a Superman movie. And that put it over the top. Thankfully, Warner Bros. does have the perfect palate cleanser for these two atrocities. No, not the unofficial sequel Superman Returns from 2006. We mean Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, a fantastic documentary about the man and the character. Thatmight actually be the best Superman movie out there.All of these movies are currently streaming on Max. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

pCloud isnt the most affordable cloud storage but that has changed this Holiday. Nowadays, pCloud is THE best cloud storage with its awesome 3-in-1 Lifetime Family bundle!In short, youre getting not only cloud storage but zero-knowledge encryption AND a phenomenal password manager. Best of all? You can share everything with up to 4 other family members!pCloud Holiday deals are live but dont let the Holiday frenzy pass you by. You have a few good days to claim your 62% discount but first, lets see what pCloud has in store.Save 62% on pCloud Family Lifetime Bundle62% Off on pCloud 3-in-1 Lifetime Family BundleOur favorite pCloud deal is no other than the famous 3-in-1 bundle. Havent heard of it yet?Well, let us introduce you. pCloud is now 62% off, so the bundle is priced at $799 for a Lifetime, which means you pay only ONCE.At this price, pCloud bundles three things:5 TB of fast, secure, and reliable storage. You can share this storage with up to 4 other family members and assign a custom amount of storage to each.Encryption. This is pCloud Encryption with a zero-knowledge model, which means youre the only one who can see and access your files.Pass Family. pClouds password manager, which aids password creation and management, making sign-ins and sign-ups way faster.The buttons in this article will take you to pClouds website, where you can claim the 3-in-1 Lifetime Family bundle instantly. Remember, its only $799 for a limited time.You would have to pay more than $2,000 otherwise!More Savings for HolidaysIf you need only storage and dont care about pCloud Encryption and Pass Family, hold our beers.pCloud introduces TWO more fantastic offers to spice up your joy-ridden holidays. You can get only Lifetime storage and save up to 55% on the following plans:Family 2 TB at $399 (55% off)Family 10 TB at $1,049 (53% off)As you can see, pClouds storage-only deals offer up to 10 TB of storage. Its overkill for many but if youre a video editor or photographer, filling it up wont be an issue.Moreover, this 10 TB of storage still comes with awesome features you wont regret buying. pCloud includes:Apps for all devices (Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS)Secure file sharingFast transfer speedsAutomatic backupsFile syncingMultiple worldwide data centers, and more.Get the Best Deal on pCloudpCloud Is Risk-Free: Test It NowWe praised this cloud storage for its free plan in our test of pCloud.However, youll also find its 14-day refund policy handy because it allows you to get a refund if you find the provider lacking in any way.Having in mind millions that enjoy pCloud as we speak, were confident youll be amazed. Besides, pClouds prices will soon go up. Are you that eager to pay more?We think this deal is a perfect chance to give it a shot!

The unholy union between the Trump-loyal MAGA right and the opportunistic grifters of the Tech Right have found their first major clash: H-1B visa policies. As the two groups try to sort themselves out, stumbling across new strands of racism and xenophobia along the way, Department of Government Efficiency co-grifter-in-chief Vivek Ramaswamy has blessed us with a new theory for why America has supposedly fallen behind in its ability to produce elite engineers: we worshipped Stefan instead of Steve Urkel. According to Ramaswamy, Our American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence, and it all dates back to 1990s sitcoms and Americas preference for the jock and prom queen over the math olympiad champ or valedictorian. A culture that venerates Cory from Boy Meets World, or Zach & Slater over Screech in Saved by the Bell, or Stefan over Steve Urkel in Family Matters, will not produce the best engineers, Ramaswamy tweeted publicly in a message that can be read by other people and everything. This whole thing is so incomprehensible that its hard to really know where to begin, but I guess itd be worth starting with the fact that this isnt even an accurate recounting of Family Matters. Steve Urkel was so popular with audiences that the show got re-written to center the character. It went from a run-of-the-mill family sitcom to a sci-fi-dipped comedy centered around Americas favorite nerd. Even the Stefan character was the product of Urkels whole nerd shtick. (If you arent up on Family Matters lore, Steve alters his DNA to be a cooler version of himself and woo his love interest Laura, and eventually he creates a clone who can be cool guy Stefan full time instead of requiring Steve to transform between the two. Laura ends up choosing Steve over Stefan anyway.) Frankly, this isnt even the most egregious example of Ramaswamys piss-poor media literacy on display in this tweet. He says More movies like Whiplash, fewer reruns of Friends,' presumably because he falls into the camp of people who think the abuse J.K. Simmons character levies on his young students in Whiplash is justified because it pushes them to greatness rather than viewing him as a tyrannical lunatic.Alsolook, I know Im really hammering the media takes but I swear this is the last onewhat a wild drive-by of Cory from Boy Meets World. He has to try extremely hard to seem cool and it just never takes for him. Hes ultimately a quintessentially average guy who figures out how to be himself. Hes certainly not a jock or prom king material. Anyway. What prompted Ramaswamy to break out this take was an ongoing battle about H-1B visas, which allow American companies to hire foreign workers for specialty occupations and have become a commonly used tool in the tech industry to attract global talent. The top H-1B visa issuers are pretty much all tech companies, and while the visas undoubtedly bring skilled workers into the fold and benefit the economy broadly, Big Tech firms have also been accused of using the employment tool to outsource work while laying off domestic staff.Trump restricted H1-B visas during his first terma policy the Biden administration reversed and tweaked to make it easier to hire immigrants. But, as Trump prepares to take office again, the program appears on the chopping block.The divide between Trump loyalists and Tech industry players reared its head over the course of the past week after a16zs Sriram Krishnan was named senior policy adviser for Artificial Intelligence for the Trump White House. The appointment drew the ire of prolific racist Laura Loomer, who believes Krishnan wants to remove all restrictions on green card caps. That would lead to more foreign students coming to the US, which is bad in Loomers eyes. She also accused Krishnan of donating to the Kamala Harris presidential campaign, but it turned out she confused him for someone with the same name, which seems about right for her whole deal. Now Ramaswamy and his fellow Trump-aligned tech bros have taken to defending immigration programs for skilled workers and students as they find themselves at odds with the nationalist front of the MAGA movement. This was bound to happen, its just a little surprising that the war broke out before Trump even took officeand on Christmas day, no less. I guess if your family has disowned you, youve got a lot more time to argue immigration policy on Twitter during the holidays.If there is one thing Ramaswamy correctly identifies, albeit likely accidentally, it is the jock-nerd divide. The writer John Ganz presented his Jock/Creep theory of fascism in 2023, and it feels pretty prescient here. The theory posits that Americans are particularly drawn to the jock/bully archetypes for their authoritarian leaders, while the creep/loser types do the plotting behind the scenes. The dull seek to give their actions the appearance of historical grandeur, while the dowdy look for a figure who embodies the strength they lack, he writes. Trump is undoubtedly a jock in this alignment, so there is little question that his supporters are drawn to that type of energythe very kind that Ramaswamy argues should not be lionized in American culture. Prior to placing himself directly atop the splintering ground beneath him, Ramaswamy served as a sort of go-between of the jocks and the nerds: able to capture the imagination of MAGA better than any other Trump replacement, but still very much in touch with the people pushing the tech worlds rightward bend. Now it appears hes cast his lot with the nerds in the eyes of MAGA.

McDonalds HQ Workplace / Studio O+A + IA Interior ArchitectsSave this picture! Garrett RowlandInstitutional BuildingsChicago, United StatesArchitects: IA Interior ArchitectsInterior Designers: Studio O+AAreaArea of this architecture projectArea:480 ftYearCompletion year of this architecture project Year: 2018 PhotographsPhotographs:Garrett RowlandManufacturersBrands with products used in this architecture project Manufacturers: Andreu World, Designtex, Skyfold, Banker Wire, Interface, USG, Allermuir, Arktura, Arrmet, Camira, Carnegie, Coalesse, Dooge Veneers, ECI, FilzFelt, HBF Textiles, Icon Modern, KSA, Leviathan, Maharam, +14Productstranslation missing: en-US.post.svg.material_descriptionMore SpecsLess SpecsSave this picture!Text description provided by the architects. McDonald's envisioned a new central office that would speak to an increasingly urban and health-conscious culture. Part corporate headquarters, part cultural center, school and history museum, the new West Loop office illustrates the power of place to bring people together in a common purpose.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Many Flavors of Work. The mix of cultures and generations typical of a large company today means its office must accommodate a variety of workstyles. The diversity of functions at McDonald's new headquarters mirrors the company's large embrace. Classic work areas and meeting rooms designed by IA Interior Architects interact with work areas designed by O+A that have the look and feel of hospitality venues. Every architectural gesture functions on its own and in partnership with the spaces around it.Save this picture!Save this picture!Chapters Unfolding Floor by Floor. The challenge for both design teams was to make the 9 stories of the West Loop headquarters a narrative worthy of the epic journey they represent. Like co-authors joining forces on one big story, IA and O+A turned each floor into a chapter.Save this picture!Save this picture!A multidirectional staircase in the building's central atrium provides a striking focal point and an avenue for casual interaction, but also symbolizes the M.C. Escher-esque sensation of moving forward in many directions at once. Shared spaces up and down that atrium spell out the story. Every floor evokes a specific element of McDonald's successthe kitchen, the flavors, the people and the communities. And every floor celebrates innovation.Save this picture!Next Exit. While the featured design moments are deliberately abstract, all are grounded in meanings derived directly from McDonald's long road trip. And just as on a road trip our eyes are always forward, at the new McDonald's headquarters the emphasis is on where this iconic company goes next, both geographically and culturally, in its decades-long mission of bringing "feel-good moments" to billions.Save this picture!Project gallerySee allShow lessProject locationAddress:Chicago, Illinois, United StatesLocation to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.About this officePublished on December 26, 2024Cite: "McDonalds HQ Workplace / Studio O+A + IA Interior Architects" 26 Dec 2024. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/913452/mcdonalds-hq-workplace-studio-o-plus-a-plus-ia-interior-architects&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save? / Studio O+A + IA Interior ArchitectsYou've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream

Lattice Deformers are a common animation trick for quickly modifying a mesh with needing to fully rig an object or character. UE 5.5 has released these new tools (3 lattices, and also a sculpt deformer - though that's not covered in this video), and this tutorial shows you the basics for using a 2x2x2 lattice to animate a simple "static mesh" in a level sequence.

Get all Revit Courses: https://balkanarchitect.com/?utm_source=youtube&amp ;amp;utm_medium=99YT24My Revit project files: https://www.patreon.com/balkanarchitect?utm_source=youtube&amp ;amp;utm_medium=99YT24Get my Personal Revit Template + Family Pack: https://balkanarchitect.com/p/balkan-architect-architecture-template-metric As 2024 comes to a close, join us for a recap of an exciting year at Balkan Architect! In this video, we share the key changes and milestones, including the expansion of our team, transition to remote work, and growth in products and services. We launched a new beginner course, released popular family sets and a new plug-in, and expanded our presence with events like DigiDeck24 and the Sofia Revit User Group. With over 100,000 new students and professionals joining us, we continue to prioritize your growth. Looking ahead to 2025, were bringing more courses, webinars, and workshops. Thank you for being part of our journey! Happy holidays and heres to another year of learning, growing, and building together.Subscribe for more and stay tuned for upcoming content!Subscribe for more!Please Like this Tutorial!Follow me on social media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balkanarchitect/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Balkan-Architect-278024016289562/?modal=admin_todo_tour Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArchitectBalkan 99YT24

Infinity Nikki is a great adaptation of what made Love Nikki and Shining Nikki stand out in the first place. The Nikki sequel features excellent fashion choices, a cute and cozy world, and stories worth exploring. One of these stories leads the player to the quest Stop! Florist Sheep, a mission to retrieve a mischievous Florist Sheep named Randall.

An NPC gets stuck in a chair and more funny game fails.